Two million and growing…

I’m sure that many of you were a part of the huge crowd at Dodger Stadium yesterday. While I was in the air from Vero Beach, almost four thousand fans were buying tickets for the first time in 2007 and Opening Day sold out in less than 15 minutes. Plus, at one point during the morning, we passed the two-million mark in tickets sold faster than at any point since 1993. That says a lot about the excitement there is for this year’s team and from all of us, a big thank you for coming out and being a part of the festivities.

For those who didn’t get Opening Day tickets but are planning on coming out a decent amount this year, you can still be at the stadium on April 9 by purchasing one of the mini plans available now. You can actually purchase as few as 15 games and still get the most coveted ticket in town – Opening Day. I know I sound like a salesman, but I know there are people who really wanted to come to Opening Day and might not have gotten their tickets, so I figured I’d point out the best way to do so.

Meanwhile, back in Vero, we had a couple of losses in split squad action today, but several guys had good days, including Brett Tomko, Jason Repko and Jeff Kent. For Tomko and Repko, every game is a little more important, as Brett is hoping to crack the rotation and Jason is looking to solidify his spot as a fourth outfielder, if not as an everyday player.

I meant to point this out a few days ago, but in case you missed it, here’s Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects entering 2007.

And finally, be sure to listen to DodgerTalk tonight on KFWB 980 at 8 p.m. Ned Colletti will be the guest and it’s one of the best ways to keep up with everything that’s happening in Vero.

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

56 Comments

I was just wondering , with free agency ,and players moving all around constantly ,what happens when you play another team that has one or more of your former players on it? Are the signs always changed ,and when are they changed, in spring training or once the season starts?

fliegel….signs are usually changed game to game probably even during the middle of a game.

I got to listen to the game today on the radio and it got me excited for the season! i cant wait. Im really excited for this season and more excited about the young talent we have. It will be exciting to see how they grow and hopefully become great Major Leaguers…i wish i could go to opening day but tickets are hard to come by. Ill try ebay though.

drj –
March and September are the few instances an organization gets to evaluate talent throughout the organization. Kemp is getting a fair shot, but they’ve also seen what he can do last year and they monitored him throughout winter ball. This month is a great shot for all of the young kids and the rehab projects we’ve acquired to prove what they have in the event of an injury on the major league team. Kemp won’t suffer from not playing 9 innings in every ST game. And in fact, he hasn’t shown much so far…I know a few games is a small sample, but if it continues like this, Larry Bigbie will be much more useful on the roster, and Kemp can gain some seasoning and plate discipline from a season at Triple A. I think it’s exciting to see potential roster replacements like Wilson Valdez, Matt White, and Bigbie do well, as there’s a strong chance we’ll need them at some point in the season.

I agree with why are we playing so many guys thathave a 95 %
chance of not making the team. If they prove worth a risk, thay will still not make the team, and ask for their release, and sign elsewhere. Then they hold a grudge against the dodgers.

I would rather see the kide gain experience, as ned said the team will be more than 25 guys, it will more than likely 30 to 35 players helping the dodgers win the divison this year, and Kemp, LaRoche, Meloan,and the rest of the prospects should be playing. go dodgers.

I’m not looking to start another round of the who likes/hates JP talks, but did you guys note that JP went 2 for 3 with an RBI today, hitting in the #2 hole, in a game that was well played and hard fought, which is like .400+ so far in ST !!!

Better yet, congratulations to the pitching staff !! Got into a lot of jams, Boston left 9 runners on base on only 5 hits, and yet our guys kept it under control !!!

Yes and No. It doesnt really depend on his patience as much as it does Grady’s calls, bc if Furcal gets a steal sign than Pierre is not swinging (unless there are two strikes, in which case he prob. wouldn’t get the steal sign anyways…)
Go Dodgers!!! great games from Wolf and MY BOY JP.

Granted it’s early in ST, but I love the fact that all the Pierre haters are dead-silent today. Like I said in previous arguments, hits drive in runs not walks (even though he’s hitting in the 2 hole, with our balanced line-up he should see a decent amount of rbi opportunities). Way to go pitching staff, I guess we should get used to these 2-1 finals this year.

the problem with Pierre is that he puts the ball in play tooo much. He needs to walk! Sure he’ll get 200 hits but he’ll only get 40 walks in 500+ AB’s. He doesnt strike out much so that means 300 or his AB’s are outs in the field. Furcal is gonna get forced out at second alot this year.

Look at his numbers last year.

699 AB’s…204 of those ABs were hits. 38 were walks and 58 were K’s so that leaves 399 of those AB’s ended with outs in the field.

If he can play like he did in 2004 ill be more then happy to have him on the Dodgers.

he’ll have some games like he did today through out the year but more then likely he won’t. I mean he cant even make it to 40 walks…his career best for walks in a season was 55. Furcal had 75 last year.

Plus pierre’s lack of any type of power beside slappy the ball means a majority of his balls in play will be on the ground.

Theres absolutely nothing on either side of the Jaun Pierre debate that really needs to be rehashed at this point. I don’t like the signing, some people do, but it’s time to let all that go and cheer for the crew. We dont need “I told you so” efter every good or bad game from each side….

So people whine and complain that Pierre is bashed too much, and when people stop, it’s out of some kind of fear or something. I don’t know what’s more laughable, people demanding that the Pierre bashers complain, or that you guys put so much stock into five Spring Training games. Wait, I do know what’s more laughable…Putting stock into Spring Training games. You really need to think about whether or not you want to have another Juan Pierre discussion, because I am more than willing to do so.

You know, you’re ALL right for once about Juan Pierre. He had a good game; it’s spring training; he puts the ball in play a lot; he doesn’t walk; we shouldn’t bash the opponents in this argument every time he has a good/bad game. For once, you’re all right. Now, let’s stop talking about it.

Frank, about your comment about these rehab projects being mad if the Dodgers don’t use them…I don’t think that’s the case. These guys all knew the roster situation when they signed, and wanted to go out and show what they could do. Even if they don’t sign with the Dodgers, if they do well in ST and another team signs them, mission accomplished as far as they’re concerned – they’re back in the bigs.

And sad-panda, I applaud your restraint in your post. I can tell you have more to say, and thanks for letting it rest. I’m of the line of thinking that since we’ve had the debate, let’s have it again at the end of the season when we have some more ammo for each side.

Oh, but one JP thing that contains some sort of poetic justice…replacement JP had a better game than money-loving Drew. I know, it’s one game, but I think for the first time Drew met his old team, I’m glad that his replacement outplayed him.

frankjhalstead, the teams also need to evaluate which fringe veterans they want taking up potentially valuable AAA roster spots, keeping them at the ready in case they need to be used as a fill-in in the show.

I now agree with the fact that we need some aging vets, but I think we have too many. I also agree that some of these vets may be part of the 30 to 35 players who help us win this year, Bigbie, Tatis, the relief pitcher we got from colorado, and a couple of more, but I wish we could see lineups with our prospects in them. I know they are getting some playing time. During the winter I looked at who we have had at triple A the last few years, the team is made up of mostly aging vets,waiting for our prospects to develope, this year it should have plenty of our prospects ready to go to l.v. let them develope so they can help us this year.

“ROCKY” !! i love it. I sure hope Tatis never takes a cut for the big league team, but i agree with you frank. Also, Max, putting the ball in play “too much”– there really is no such thing… trust me, that really won’t be a problem– plus, its not like he puts the ball in play without getting htis…

i want pierre to put the ball in play and hopefully grady gets aggressive with some hit and runs/run and hits. heres to seeing a lot of 1st and 3rds with no outs and nomar( loney ) up. im keeping my fingers crossed

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.